Chitungwiza residents have raised concern over the poor state of their roads which were left impassable by heavy rains that pounded the town and many parts of the country over the past few days.
In an interview with Talking Harare, Chitungwiza Residents Trust (CHITREST) coordinator Tinashe Kazuru said the heavy rains have exposed the poor road quality in the town and blamed the local authority for failing to consistently repair roads and only try to react to situations.
‘The road situation in Chitungwiza has worsened as almost all roads are not passable due to heavy rains that hit the town and created craters that are dangerous to motorists and pedestrians. They (city council) knew that the rainy season was coming, but surprisingly they were folding their hands, they are only trying to react now when the situation has already worsened,’ said Kazuru.
He encouraged the residents to resort to social responsibility and try to rectify the problem on their own saying council has shown that it has no capacity to solve the problem. ‘We are encouraging residents to use rubbles and sand to cover potholes. It’s not a permanent solution to the problem but for now it has proven to be useful especially given that the local authority has no interest and capacity to solve the problem,’ added Kazuru.
Commenting on the same issue, Chitungwiza Commuter Operators Association secretary general, Farai Muza shared the same sentiments with Kazuru saying kombi drivers were now afraid of putting the lives of commuters in danger as the situation on the roads had become unbearable. ‘This is not at all good. We are incurring many expenses in trying to repair our damaged vehicles and as we ferry passengers, there is great danger that you might drive into a pothole and if you are not lucky people might get killed in the process,’ said Muza who also blamed responsible authorities for failing to take immediate action.
Some motorists also told Talking Harare that they were shocked at the lack of commitment from their local authority to repair potholes on their roads.
‘We are surprised, everyone is seeing this but nothing is being done,’ said Sungano Mabika a Chitungwiza motorist.
The roads situation has worsened from the time the rainy season begun not only in Chitungwiza but in greater Harare as well. The capital city’s mayor Benard Manyenyeni was forced to hold a crisis meeting with ZINARA Board Chairman Albert Mugabe to map the way forward.
Meanwhile, the heavy rains that hit greater Harare and many parts of the country left a trail of destruction as many houses collapsed in areas like Caledonia, Hopley and Chitungwiza. Bridget Tamayi of Caledonia had this to say about the situation in the informal settlement, ‘…things are not well in Caledonia, these rains have destroyed our homes and most people are sleeping outside in the cold. Those that are lucky to have cars are actually using them as shelter. We are calling on the government and interested parties or even individuals to assist in any way they can. If these heavy rains come again, we will be in bigger trouble. Some people are sleeping outside with children and this is very worrying.’